WATERVILLE, Me. – Trailing 7-3 with under nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the No. 7 Wesleyan women's lacrosse team scored three unanswered and had a chance to tie the score in the final minute but that last possession ended in a turnover and No. 4 Colby killed off the last few seconds as the Mules prevailed in a 7-6 win.
 
Wesleyan (15-6) sees their season come to an end in the NCAA Quarterfinal in what is just the team's second-ever trip to the Elite 8 and first since 2019. Colby (17-3) defeats the Cardinals in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season and advance to the team's first-ever Final Four.
 
Efficiency helped Colby open a 3-1 lead in the first quarter as the Mules scored on all three of their shot attempts in the opening period. As was the case for most of the game, the Mules turned the ball over a considerable amount, committing six turnovers in the first quarter alone, but managed to hold the Wesleyan offense in-check and make the most of their few shot attempts.
 
The second quarter saw Wesleyan force Colby into turnovers on each of their first four possessions of the frame, but the Cardinals couldn't find the back of the net as Dylan Green '26 hit the post on a free position shot while Kiara Tangney '25 also hit a post on the same possession just 30 seconds later. Green was denied by Colby goalkeeper Jillian Kane on the same possession to keep the Mules' two-goal lead intact.
 
Mya Waryas '27 finally broke through with an aggressive take on her on-ball defender, working her way in for a goal with 7:16 remaining in the second. Colby answered right back with a pair of player-up goals just 1:05 minutes apart to go up 5-2 but Addie Cummings '26 hit from distance to make it 5-3 Mules at halftime.
 
Just one goal was scored in the third quarter as Charlotte Michener found the back of the net to make it a three-goal game heading into the fourth. Izzy Weintraub '26 made three saves for the Cardinals in the third quarter, keeping her team in the game while the Cardinals went 0-for-3 on free position shots in the stanza.
 
As the Cardinals' scoring drought continued, Colby's Gennie Littlejohn converted on a free position to give Colby their largest lead of the game at 7-3 with 12:24 remaining.
 
The clock ticked under nine minutes remaining but the Cardinal defense stepped up in forcing Colby into a shot clock violation followed by another turnover, which helped keep Wesleyan in the game. Then after more than 26 minutes without a goal, Wesleyan scored on consecutive possessions with Green scoring on a free position before Sam DeLeo '25 worked some magic to make it 7-5 Mules with 7:20 left.
 
Michener was issued a yellow card just 40 seconds later, putting Colby down a player, but Wesleyan couldn't convert on the player-up. Another Colby turnover was followed by a key Weintraub save with just over a minute left, again keeping the Cardinals in it for when Waryas scored her second of the game with just 43 seconds left to make it 7-6.
 
A crucial draw control win from Green gave the Cardinals a last-ditch chance for an equalizer but Colby's Gisele Uva got her stick on a pass from DeLeo and as Uva picked up the ground ball and headed towards midfield, the clock ticked under five seconds and ultimately the game ended in a 7-6 Mule victory.
 
Wesleyan outshot Colby in every single quarter and 25-15 for the game. The Cardinals also won the turnover battle, forcing the Mules into 20 while committing 16 on offense, and Wesleyan held a 24-17 advantage in ground balls. Colby was aided by an efficient offense that saw seven different players score while the Mules scored a goal on seven of their 15 shot attempts, missing the cage just one time, while also holding a 11-6 edge in draw controls.
 
Green and Waryas scored twice for Wesleyan while Green added three draw controls. Molly Simon '26 (three caused turnovers, three ground balls), Lilly Stoller '26 (three caused turnovers, two ground balls), and Lindsey Diomede '26 (three caused turnovers, two ground balls) all had big days defensively while Weintraub finished with six saves in goal.